Kent State University

About: Kent State University is a education organization based out in Kent, Ohio, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Liquid crystal & Population. The organization has 10897 authors who have published 24607 publications receiving 720309 citations. The organization is also known as: Kent State & KSU.

Competition for Pollination Between an Invasive Species (Purple Loosestrife) and a Native Congener

Abstract: Invasive species are frequently regarded as superlative competitors that can vegetatively crowd out natives, but little is known about whether invasives can compete for pollination services with native plants. We hypothesized that, when the showy invasive species Lythrum salicaria (purple loosestrife) was present, pollinator visitation and seed set would be reduced in a native congener, L. alatum (winged loosestrife). To test this hypothesis, we constructed mixed and monospecific plots of the two species. Over two years of study, we found that L. salicaria significantly reduced both pollinator visitation and seed set in L. alatum. Furthermore, pollinators moved frequently between the two plant species, which may cause heterospecific pollen transfer. Thus, reductions in both pollen quantity and pollen quality may reduce L. alatum seed set. If similar patterns occur in the field, invasive plants may be an even greater threat to natives than previously thought.

Emotion Dysregulation in Generalized Anxiety Disorder: A Comparison with Social Anxiety Disorder

Abstract: From an emotion regulation framework, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) can be conceptualized as a syndrome involving heightened intensity of subjective emotional experience, poor understanding of emotion, negative reactivity to emotional experience, and the use of maladaptive emotion management strategies (including over-reliance on cognitive control strategies such as worry). The current study sought to replicate previous findings of emotion dysregulation among individuals with GAD and delineate which aspects of emotion dysregulation are specific to GAD or common to GAD and another mental disorder (social anxiety disorder). Individuals with GAD reported greater emotion intensity and fear of the experience of depression than persons with social anxiety disorder and nonanxious control participants. Individuals with social anxiety disorder indicated being less expressive of positive emotions, paying less attention to their emotions, and having more difficulty describing their emotions than either persons with GAD or controls. Measures of emotion differentiated GAD, social anxiety disorder, and normal control groups with good accuracy in a discriminant function analysis. Findings are discussed in light of theoretical and treatment implications for both disorders.

Optimization of mesoporous carbon structures for lithium–sulfur battery applications

Abstract: Mesoporous carbon (MC) with tunable pore sizes (22 nm, 12 nm, 7 nm, and 3 nm) and pore volumes (from 1.3 to 4.8 cm3 g−1) containing sulfur in the pores was studied as a mesoporous carbon–sulfur (MCS) composite electrode for lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries. Systematic investigation of these MCS composites reveals that MC with a larger pore volume can hold a higher maximum sulfur loading, but overall the battery performance is very similar for different MCS composites at full sulfur-filling conditions (i.e., the condition at which the sulfur loading approaches the maximum limit set by the pore volume of the individual MC and, therefore, the pores of each MC are fully filled by sulfur). For the same MC, partial sulfur-filling (i.e., the condition at which the sulfur loading is lower than the maximum limit and, therefore, the pores are only partially filled with sulfur) leads to an improved initial discharge capacity and cycle stability, probably because of improved electrical and ionic transport during electrochemical reactions. Based on this understanding, an MCS composite electrode using MC with a large pore volume, partial sulfur filling, and a novel surface modification was designed for Li–S batteries. An initial capacity of ∼1390 mA h g−1 (based on sulfur) and a capacity retention of ∼840 mA h g−1 over 100 cycles at a 0.1 C rate were obtained using MC (22 nm, 4.8 cm3 g−1) with 50 wt% sulfur loading and a commercially available Clevios P (poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDT/PSS)) coating.